Kuala Lumpur, 22 June 2026 – Iran sits across a wide and varied landscape where health services continue to operate in cities, towns, and remote areas, often under uneven pressure shaped by access, capacity, and increasing demand for care. Health facilities remain functional across much of the system, supported by longstanding experience and resilience within the local health sector, while also navigating evolving operational conditions.
MERCY Malaysia will deploy a four-member Rapid Assessment Team to Iran to conduct a field-based assessment of humanitarian and health conditions on the ground. The mission is part of the organisation’s preparedness and response work, focused on strengthening situational understanding and informing principled humanitarian decision-making.
Humanitarian conditions rarely emerge in a single moment. They develop over time through overlapping pressures and systemic strain. Even where services continue to function, sustained operational demands, resource limitations, and shifts in supply chains can influence the consistency and reach of care delivery.
The objective of this mission is to develop a clear, verified understanding of the current situation through direct observation and engagement at field level. The team will review how health services are functioning, including service access, facility capacity, and the operational realities faced by health providers.
Engagements will be carried out with local health authorities, medical staff, and relevant partners to ensure that findings reflect grounded, on-the-ground realities. This approach allows humanitarian analysis to be informed by evidence, supporting appropriate, proportionate, and context-sensitive planning where relevant.
MERCY Malaysia undertakes this mission in line with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. These principles remain central to humanitarian action, particularly in complex and evolving environments.
MERCY Malaysia President, Dato’ Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus, said the mission reflects the importance of structured understanding in humanitarian work.
“We need to understand the situation as it is, not as it is assumed to be. This assessment ensures that our understanding is grounded in reality, so that any future considerations are appropriate, focused, and effective. In humanitarian work, clarity is what allows decisions to be made responsibly and in context,” he said.
Findings from this assessment will inform MERCY Malaysia’s internal planning and coordination with relevant partners, particularly in relation to health system understanding, preparedness considerations, and response frameworks where applicable.
MERCY Malaysia remains committed to principled humanitarian engagement, guided by careful assessment, respect for local capacity, and needs-based approaches to all its work.
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